The BBC has no cannabis desk. It has 33+ journalists across News, Business, Health, Politics and World Service who pick up the beat when a story clears the impartiality bar.

That changes the pitch. You are not selling a topic to a specialist — you are selling a UK-relevant, evidence-backed story to a generalist who has fifteen other things on.

The BBC frames cannabis as policy, health, business and crime — rarely as lifestyle or consumer culture.

UK relevance is the gate. A Colorado legalisation story needs a British comparison, a UK patient or a Westminster angle to travel.

Impartiality is structural, not optional. BBC Cannabis reporters will source a counter-voice even on a story that favours your position — so supply one yourself and you control the framing.

Expect coverage in these lanes:

• Politics: Home Office scheduling, medicinal cannabis reform, licensing
• Health: NHS prescribing access, MHRA and CBD regulation, peer-reviewed science
• Business: Listed operators, pharmacy supply chains, clinic economics
• Crime & policing: Enforcement data, illegal supply, county lines
• World: Canada, Germany, US states as comparison cases

What the BBC will not run: product reviews, investment tips, celebrity CBD puff pieces, or anything resembling promotion of unlicensed goods.

There is no published roster. Our directory tracks 33+ journalists with live cannabis bylines across BBC News, Radio 4, World Service and regional bureaux.

Representative names in our directory include Anna Adams, Seher Asaf, Katy Austin and Dan Ayers. Treat these as starting points — confirm current role and recent beat coverage before you send anything.

Triage before pitching:

• Politics desk — Westminster, Home Office, health ministers
• Health desk — NHS access, clinical evidence, regulator decisions
• Business desk — listed companies, pharmacy and clinic operators
• World Service — international comparison and global regulation
• Regional — licensing disputes, local policing, planning rows

BBC Cannabis journalists respond to three things: a hard news peg, a named human, and a number they can verify independently.

Lead with the data. Home Office licensing statistics, NHS prescription volumes, company filings, FOI responses, peer-reviewed studies — anything auditable.

Then offer the case study. A patient, a pharmacist, a police commissioner, a licensed producer. Real names, willing to be recorded, with paperwork.

Avoid advocacy framing. "Cannabis should be legal" is not a story; "NHS prescribing fell 18% in two years despite rising demand" is.

Email is the channel. Phone calls to BBC newsrooms rarely land; a tight email with the story in the subject line does.

Accessing BBC Cannabis journalists contacts means matching desk to story — a health reporter for a prescribing angle, a business reporter for a funding round. Never send the same pitch to five desks.

Respect BBC Editorial Guidelines. No gifts, no hospitality, no paid travel, no sponsored content, no advertiser leverage. Offering any of these ends the relationship.

Use the BBC press office for formal statements and right-of-reply. Go direct to the reporter for story pitches — that is the normal, accepted route.

Follow up once, 48 hours later, with a new fact. Not a reminder.

• UK news peg identified, dated within 14 days
• One verifiable statistic with a linkable public source
• Named, on-record case study confirmed by phone
• Independent expert available for balance
• Reporter shortlisted and last three bylines checked
• Subject line carries the story, not the brand
• Body copy under 120 words, attachments under 2MB
• No product samples, no hospitality, no paid offers
• Right-of-reply and press office contacts ready
• Single follow-up scheduled at 48 hours with fresh detail

Build the relationship on the first story you don't get. Send a data point with no ask, and the next pitch lands in a warmer inbox.